The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

JESUS did not explain The Parable of the Mustard Seed and The Parable of the Leaven, so in order to understand their lesson we must compare them with certain facts which the Scriptures reveal to us concerning the kingdom of heaven. One of these facts is that many of the Bible’s references to the kingdom pertain, not to the time when Christ is ruling “from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth,” but to the time when those who will constitute the rulers in the kingdom are being selected from the world of mankind and being proved worthy of the high position to which they are called.—Ps. 72:8

The Bible indicates that during this preparatory aspect of the kingdom the Lord’s true people, “the children of the kingdom,” would be a very small company. (Matt. 13:38) Jesus addressed these saying, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32) The Scriptures also reveal that this “little flock” of disciples would be unrecognized by the world, and persecuted.—I John 3:1; Matt. 5:10-12

The Parable of the Mustard Seed, on the other hand, suggests a large growth of the kingdom, from a very small beginning, like the mustard seed, to a giant herb, or tree, in which the fowl of the heaven could find shelter. It is true that when the kingdom of Christ is established in power and great glory, its rulership will be extended throughout all the earth. However, the mustard seed parable hardly fits this situation, so we must seek the explanation of this parable along other lines.

We believe the clue is suggested by Jesus in The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares. As we saw in our study of this parable, Jesus indicated that the “tares” represented the “things that offend, and them which do iniquity,” and that at the end of the age these were to be gathered out of the kingdom. (Matt. 13:41) The point is that during the preparatory period of the Gospel Age there have been elements in the kingdom which have been iniquitous, sinful. This, we think, suggests the proper explanation of the mustard seed parable.

Throughout the age there has been a counterfeit kingdom class, as well as the true. Indeed, from a very small beginning of evil shortly after the apostles fell asleep in death, there grew what the world called “Christendom,” or Christ’s kingdom. It embraced all the nations of Europe, and its influence spread to other countries. In the branches of this “tree” all classes of the world and the worldly found shelter. It became their abiding place, their home.—Luke 13:19

So well established and popular became this “tree” that it was an advantage from the standpoint of prestige and social standing to seek shelter in its branches. People were not invited to join the church on the grounds that it would offer them an opportunity to suffer and to die with Christ. Instead of persecution, they were offered popularity. Instead of being a “little flock,” this nominal kingdom class counted its members by the millions. Indeed, Christendom grew into a very imposing “tree.” The parable refers to it as the greatest of all “herbs,” so the comparison is not between the sizes of trees in a wood, but between herbs in a garden, and certainly the leaders of Christendom boast of the great growth of that which they have planted.

Parable of the Leaven

THE Parable of the Leaven seems also to apply to the nominal kingdom of Christ rather than to the true. This conclusion is reached from the fact that leaven is always used in the Bible as a symbol of sin, of that which is out of harmony with God, hence a corrupting influence. The use of leaven was strictly forbidden in all offerings made to the Lord by fire. During the Passover the Jews were commanded to put every particle of leaven from their houses.

The idea which the Bible associates with leaven is its corrupting influence. It is to this property of leaven that Jesus refers when he speaks of “the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” (Matt. 16:6) The apostle speaks of the “old leaven” “of malice and wickedness.”—I Cor. 5:7,8

The parable states that a “woman” hid leaven in three measures of meal. This “woman” would seem to be the false church to which the names Jezebel and Babylon are given in the Book of Revelation. (Rev. 2:20; 17:1-6) The fact that she “hid” the leaven in the meal suggests something which was not done openly. The meal would seem to represent the spiritual food which the Lord provided for his people, the precious doctrines of the divine plan of redemption and restoration for the sin-cursed and dying race. The three measures of meal could be intended to emphasize the three basic truths of the Word; namely, death, “the wages of sin,” the redemption provided through Christ Jesus, and the restitution of the world during the thousand years of Christ’s kingdom.

Associated with these basic truths are various other fundamental doctrines, which together comprise the divine plan of the ages. The “woman” of the parable mingled corrupting elements of doctrine with these truths and finally they lost their purity in the minds of nominal believers. Eternal torture was substituted for death as the penalty for sin. The doctrine of the ransom was corrupted by the God-dishonoring theory of the trinity. The hope of resurrection, or restitution, was no longer meaningful, for how could there be a resurrection of the dead if no one were dead?

The parable states that as a result of the leaven hidden in the meal “the whole was leavened.” History reveals that this literally came true, for it is impossible to find a single doctrine of the divine plan properly set forth in the dogmas of the apostate church. Thus The Parable of the Leaven can also be considered a prophecy—a very accurate prophecy of the extent to which the church nominal would corrupt the true teachings of the Word of God.

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